A different kind of recommendation 🧘🏻♂️
Today is the 25th day in a row that I’ve meditated.
I went into it thinking it was just a way to carve out a few minutes of solitude on a hectic day. A timeout. A reset. And it is that, but I’m also still getting used to what it’s not.
I thought I was making time to investigate the behaviors I wanted to change or improve, to make a plan of action that would definitively solve the problems I wanted it to solve, but it’s not a space for analysis or planning.
It’s a space to sit with yourself and accept the pieces you were scheming to remove or obscure. It’s a surrender to the notion that you don’t have it all figured out, but given time and space and consistency, you’re the one with the best chance to do so.
It’s a vulnerable position, sitting in a quiet darkness of your own making. It should be ripe for the thoughts you’re trying to avoid, but you’d be surprised at the random memories accessed when there’s nowhere to go but inside. Those thoughts do come and go, but it’s more a recognition and return, like breaths drawn in and then let out.
I don’t know what this process will continue to reveal, but already I feel lighter and less likely to pick up the rope in testy situations. More importantly, I’m being kinder to myself and others. It’s one of those simple life hacks that isn’t a hack at all. If you slow down and listen to the sound of your breath, the rhythm of your life, you’ll hear some things that were there all along.
My recommendation today isn’t a Netflix show or a podcast. It’s to find 10 minutes. To close your eyes and breathe deep. To let the thoughts come and then let them go.